Civil Services Mains 2020 Results: In or Out ? Way ahead, gratitude and Pain
The Civils Mains result has been declared. This thread is for sharing your grief , joy , mixed feelings - absolutely anything and everything.
whatonly,Jonathan
somebody who covered gs 2 pls give a comprehensive plan on how to go abt gs 2 .. apart from laxmikanth, current affairs what else need to be covered. ..planning t0 compete it with notes till may end...
In fact it would be great, if we discuss sources for all the GS papers, keeping in mind the 2020 papers.
I have few queries..
1.How many years mains365 is needed? 1 year or 2 years?
2.For the portion of mains which is not covered by basic books like laxmikant etc what should be done?For this portion is vision value added material good?
3.Why people prefer to do test series question and answers to finish that extra portion and do not prefer vision value added material?
Thanks in advance
thewinner,for mains notes what are the sources, we needed to refer to for static as well as dynamic part??? for dynamic - i have heard mains365, forum CA handouts, MK Yadav qep,etc what to do can anyone explain ??@whatonly @SergioRamos @AzadHindFauz any other
venkataharish,whatonly
whatonly,Usain_boltI have few queries..
1.How many years mains365 is needed? 1 year or 2 years?
2.For the portion of mains which is not covered by basic books like laxmikant etc what should be done?For this portion is vision value added material good?
3.Why people prefer to do test series question and answers to finish that extra portion and do not prefer vision value added material?
Thanks in advance
1. Number of years is a personal choice. Normally under time constraints most people are able to do one year only. Some sincere ones also do 2 years. This year given the extension one can also do 3 years.
My personal advice is don't bother about no. Of years. Just make list of topics( both from syllabus+ Booklet content page) then look at PYQs and try to identify broad themes. Then jot down content on each of them.
2. There is no such thing as ' good enough'. VAM is reliable. If possible along with it add content from test papers.
3.VAM content is mostly static in nature. Mostly it covers fringe areas of syllabus.
People prefer test series because of two reasons
a) Some people like to read things in Q/ A format.
b) The test papers questions are application oriented+ covers CA of that year. It supplements your static content of VAM.
I have few queries..
1.How many years mains365 is needed? 1 year or 2 years?
2.For the portion of mains which is not covered by basic books like laxmikant etc what should be done?For this portion is vision value added material good?
3.Why people prefer to do test series question and answers to finish that extra portion and do not prefer vision value added material?
Thanks in advance
1. Number of years is a personal choice. Normally under time constraints most people are able to do one year only. Some sincere ones also do 2 years. This year given the extension one can also do 3 years.
My personal advice is don't bother about no. Of years. Just make list of topics( both from syllabus+ Booklet content page) then look at PYQs and try to identify broad themes. Then jot down content on each of them.
2. There is no such thing as ' good enough'. VAM is reliable. If possible along with it add content from test papers.
3.VAM content is mostly static in nature. Mostly it covers fringe areas of syllabus.
People prefer test series because of two reasons
a) Some people like to read things in Q/ A format.
b) The test papers questions are application oriented+ covers CA of that year. It supplements your static content of VAM.
Thank you brother...
Usain_bolt,
peterparker,@peterparkeryes that would be great as it will benefit everyone ... i have covered gs 1 ..n since most of it is static regular prelims prep covers it( spectrum, ancient medieval art n culture).. for society i have done vision VAM..also since m preparing current affairs from monthly will add points from there as per the topics of the syllabus.. world history covered from mudit jain book.. post independence made notes out of ncert..m not planning to do anything else for this ppr will add extra from test series..
What about geography? For prelims, ncerts + maps suffice. But for mains, they seem inadequate. Pmfias geography notes were quite detailed. How are you preparing?
@Curious_souls these were my sources for GS2:
1. Laxmikanth (didn't revise the whole book again, but according to whatever is in syllabus)
2. Vision value added material for topics not in Laxmikanth (made shorter notes from some of them)
3. Social Issues mains 365
4. Polity mains 365
5. IR mains 365
The questions in GS2 are getting more and more analytical every year, so it seems like a proper understanding of the concepts and a wide knowledge of examples/applications is more important than memory.
I divided the source material into things that needed memory and things that needed analysis. I tried to minimise the former and maximise the latter.
Memory: There will be a few questions that need some ratta, both from static (like RPA corrupt practices question this year) and current affairs (NEP-SDG4 question, RTI amendments question).The static parts are usually pretty directly picked up from the syllabus - RPA provisions, for example, have been asked before. I focused on memorizing anything that was directly given under the syllabus topics, such as main parts of Laxmikanth, recommendations of various committees on governance topics to sprinkle in answers, structure of international institutions etc. Also while doing mains 365, with some analysis of PYQs I tried to estimate what topic might be asked directly and needs to be remembered. Memorizing SDGs, DPSPs and statistics is very useful. You can just insert these in the intro or conclusion to almost any answer to give it some weight.
Analysis:the growing number of such questions can actually be an advantage if you get the hang of answering them. While studying, whether it was static or current affairs, I used to focus on minimizing what I needed to memorise from it. For example, for any legislation, only the most distinct features were to be memorised. For the advantages, disadvantages, impacts, way forward parts, I used to analyze the patterns among them across different topics while studying. After a while I was able to come up with points for these topics while writing the exam even if I hadn't encountered the subject of the question before. I also made a generic list of such things that could be used anywhere in case I couldn't think of anything in the exam.
My approach to every question was to just pick up the phrases mentioned and use them directly as subtopics. You can develop a basic set of frameworks, one of which can be used for any given question. This sounds more complicated than it is - I just used the 5Ws, or intro-features-advantages-disadvantages-way forward-conclusion. If you can identify 3-4 salient points, write them as pillars.
This may be because of PSIR optional, but I found GS2 easiest to study for because the sources list was shortest for it. Thinking well about the topics beforehand will certainly help in the exam. This is what I think worked for me, but can't say for certain until marks are out.
Some points I noted down that kept coming up in different topics. The plan was to use them wherever I needed a point or two more as a last resort.
1. Encourage people’s engagement - CBOs, SHGs, PRI
2. Strengthen legislative and regulatory framework
3. Use technology: AI, ML
4. For legislation, refer to Law Commission
5. UDHR, SDG, DPSP
6. Portal has been launched (true for most things)
7. Urban-rural angle
8. Any tech ->digital divide
9. Any tech ->privacy, security, data sovereignty
10. Build skills
11. Grievance redressal mechanisms
12. Challenge - Lack of research
13. Projects ->Land acquisition problems
14. Economy ->investor confidence will be affected
15. Develop standard operating procedures
16. Agriculture, infra ->land records digitisation
17. Social issues ->collect detailed data
18. Local language for communications
19. Reduce GST for sector
20. Challenge - weak regulation
21. Problem with program: cost overruns
I started doing this only towards the end, so the list can be much longer!
Some points I noted down that kept coming up in different topics. The plan was to use them wherever I needed a point or two more as a last resort.
1. Encourage people’s engagement - CBOs, SHGs, PRI
2. Strengthen legislative and regulatory framework
3. Use technology: AI, ML
4. For legislation, refer to Law Commission
5. UDHR, SDG, DPSP
6. Portal has been launched (true for most things)
7. Urban-rural angle
8. Any tech ->digital divide
9. Any tech ->privacy, security, data sovereignty
10. Build skills
11. Grievance redressal mechanisms
12. Challenge - Lack of research
13. Projects ->Land acquisition problems
14. Economy ->investor confidence will be affected
15. Develop standard operating procedures
16. Agriculture, infra ->land records digitisation
17. Social issues ->collect detailed data
18. Local language for communications
19. Reduce GST for sector
20. Challenge - weak regulation
21. Problem with program: cost overruns
I started doing this only towards the end, so the list can be much longer!
Seeing the way you study and the sources you mention,I wonder how I even managed to clear pre let alone mains.
I have been anti thesis of what neywan here on any coaching or an odeal aspirant would suggest.
0 tests,0 answers written(a.k.a no answer writing.Just got guidance from mother),0 pre tests,left ancient and medievel history,left world history,left post independence.Did only ncerts for geography(Heard pmfias for the 1st time today).Don't know what is vision vam.0 diagram,0 hub and spoke.
Have'nt seen any mrunal lecture
Have'nt seen The Hindu since end of 2019.
2 test written for optional,nothing else.0 essays written.
Have'nt seen any coaching material for optional.
I wonder Should I leave interview prep and start prep from scratch again .
Strange things happen.
Dekho kya hota hai.
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